Tag Archives: Joe Henderson

KNOXVILLE, Tennessee — Tennessee freshman defensive lineman Charles Mosley will start his career at a whopping 374 pounds, a dozen pounds more than his listed weight during recruiting.

That was among the tidbits gleaned from Tennessee’s release of the updated weights and heights for first-year players on the Vols’ 2014 roster.

Collectively, Tennessee’s first-year players gained 84 pounds and lost 72 for a net difference of 12 pounds from their listed weight when signed.

In some cases, that could indicate a player losing or gaining weight on his own. In other instances, it could simply mean that their weight was artificially inflated or deflated during the recruiting process and this is the first “official” measurement.

Defensive end Dewayne Hendrix gained the most weight in the new release, growing from 252 to 273 pounds. That suggests he could eventually move inside to a defensive tackle spot. (Or perhaps could move inside sooner than expected).

On the other side, defensive end Derek Barnett dropped from 284 to 267 pounds, the biggest loss among first-year players. Barnett is another strong-side end who was expected to play as a big end or eventually move inside.

Hendrix also gained an inch in height and is now listed at 6-foot-4. Three first-year players gained an inch, two lost an inch. Some players, of course, are still growing. The shrinking players likely benefited from an inflated inch during the recruiting process.

A quick glance at the roster showed who was the odd man out. Defensive end Joe Henderson is not listed, suggesting that he could not get approval from the NCAA Clearinghouse in time to satisfy coaches. If, as it appears, he doesn’t plan to enroll early, Henderson’s recruitment would still be open and he could sign with any team — including Tennessee — in February.

Tennessee coach Butch Jones has consistently said the Vols have room for 14 early enrollees, so it seems unlikely that the team could accept 15.

The other wild card is Dontavius Blair, who is wrapping up online courses this week and has not yet attended classes. Blair, however, is still listed on the roster.

A UT spokesperson said the tweets and videos about Henderson this week are not an NCAA violation because Henderson had signed a non-binding athletic aid agreement that allowed coaches to talk about him publicly, something usually prohibited for unsigned prospects.

I’ve tweaked the breakdown above, adding a section for roster non-contributors. These are players who are in at least their second year in the program and have not contributed and don’t appear close to contributing right now. I didn’t want to single anyone out, but in order to provide a clear picture of the recruiting efforts, those numbers needed to be considered.

The usual caveat applies: This is a speculative exercise and may not match UT’s goals, strategy, etc.

The only major issue remains at defensive tackle, but that’s somewhat misleading, as many defensive tackles start their career at end.

Even so, with Daniel McCullers and Daniel Hood graduating, the Vols would love to have more depth inside — both on the current roster, and in the 2014 class.

Who could grow into a defensive tackle? Anyone, really, including several options on the current roster. But if you’re looking for a big run-stuffer in the mold of McCullers, the options are more limited.

Dimarya Mixon (6-3, 265) is the only player listed as a tackle among the current group of commitments.

Obviously, all heights and weights should be taken with a grain of salt, but compare those numbers to Hood (6-4, 277), McCullers (6-8, 351) and reserve tackle Trevarris Saulsberry (6-4, 291). Except for McCullers, the differences aren’t immense.

Marlon Walls (6-2, 272) is mainly an end now, although he’s played tackle before and frequently will move inside on passing downs when speed rushers come in.

Vols freshman tackle Jason Carr (6-5, 285) played briefly this year but will have a chance to earn more playing time in 2014.

Long story short, will defensive tackle be a concern in 2014? Probably. A crisis? Perhaps not.

KNOXVILLE, Tennessee — The top half of Tennessee’s 2014 commitment list shuffled a bit when the recruiting sites updated their rankings after a couple of high-profile prospect events.

Linebacker Dillon Bates, who committed to the Vols last week, made a huge jump in the 247Sports rankings. In the 247 Composite rankings, which we use for the charts and graphics, he is the third-ranked prospect on the Vols’ current commitment list.

Ohio defensive end Joe Henderson, also made a big jump, moving up two spots on our list after breaking into the Top247.

KNOXVILLE, Tennessee — National Signing Day is about eight months away, but Tennessee is already halfway to the finish line in building its 2014 class.

The Vols have 15 verbal commitments, or roughly half of the prospects UT will be able to sign in February.

Two more prospects have committed since the last time we updated the list. (As always, for those who are new, the spreadsheet above is for speculative and informational purposes only, and may not represent UT’s recruiting plan).